Does anyone know if we can use the GSM/SIM card cell phones we have in Taiwan when traveling to Thailand?
Should be OK. I used roaming with my Taiwan Dageda GSM account there.
Yes, no problem.
I use pre-paid cards with Taiwan dageda. My phone didnot work in Thailand because I didn’t buy a Thai sim card. If you have an account it will work if you pre-paid cards it won’t without buying a Thai sim card.
Right. I have a contract so I suppose that’s why roaming worked OK for me.
You should always contact your operator in advance to make sure that roaming is available (for the country/-ies you are going to) and activated … it not always is.
Thanks, everyone. I do use pre-paid cards and won’t be there long enough to justify a Thai SIM card.
It really depends on how long you are going to be there i guess. They also have prepaid card kind of thing in Thailand as well…
You can pick up a sim card in Thailand for 200 baht I think with 60 baht credit at 7/11. No id or registration required. Its a lot cheaper than using your Taiwan or another phone.
damafen is right. Just go to 7-Eleven and ask for a 1-2-call sim card or a Happy Sim card. Starting from next month you will need ID to purchase the card, but at the moment none is required.
basically, unless you have money falling out of your arse, you should never ever use roaming. get a prepaid SIM and save…
And as usual, don’t forget to use the area code before the number in Thailand.
I had a Thai SIM card until a year or so ago. It used to be that you could walk into any old 7-11 and pick one up. As I pop down there quite often, I wanted to replace it after it expired. However, as I recall there was something about a heap of problems getting a new one, something to do with concern over the potential use of mobile phones for triggering bombs.
So, in a nutshell, I can’t help ya.
HG
Just got back from Thailand so I can update this thread with updated info.
You need an ID to purchase a rechargeable sim card in Thailand, and they are sold everywhere. Bangkok airports have counters where you can buy them and convenience stores sell them. They start at about the equivalent of NT$50. I bought one that was worth about NT$99, and it worked, but the reception was not great. In the end, it was a lot cheaper than using intl roaming with my Taiwan sim card, but it was inconvenient in that I never knew if someone tried to call me because I had a different phone number which I only gave to a few people.
But yeah, it did the trick and it saved me a few bucks.
marboulette
My phone (Motorola, Chunghua Telecom) did NOT work anywhere in Thailand, even in downtown Bangkok. I’d have to get a local SIM card if I wanted it to work.
I might not be the phone but rather that your SIM was not allowed to roam. Call the customer service of your operator and ask them to activate that function when you expect to travel; name the country/countries you will be visiting and check if service is available there.
I might not be the phone but rather that your SIM was not allowed to roam. Call the customer service of your operator and ask them to activate that function when you expect to travel; name the country/countries you will be visiting and check if service is available there.[/quote]
That is correct. I had to activate the intl roaming on my Taiwan sim before going to Thailand in case I could not find a sim card in Thailand. It’s important to remember to switch back to normal roaming when coming back to Taiwan or else you pay intl roaming rates when calling abroad from Taiwan which in my case works out to be an outrageous NT$ 45 per minute.
marboulette
Just as an update, no ID is required to buy a SIM in Thailand.
If anyone has questions about mobile-network-providers in Thailand, feel free to contact me
Actually, I should add here, and I’m sure WOLFinTHAI has better guff on this, but last month while I was down there I picked up a great plan from DTAC that allowed internet access via a mobile phone using blue tooth. It cost sod all, like Bt200 for 50 hours a month, and with no other hidden costs.
Access was good. I was in Chumphon, Samui, Koh Tao, Pattaya, Bangkok, and even at one point stopped the car halfway to Chumphon to make an online booking, cos it was half the price of just rocking up.
HG
Both DTAC and 1-2-call have prepaid plans for use of EDGE/GPRS. I would say, these rates are the cheapest to go online with your mobile anywhere in the world. they have several packages 30, 60 or even 300 hours and unlimited access for one month. very very cheap indeed. the thing is, the package rates and promotion change so quickly that it’s almost impossible to keep track…
about 2 years ago I was using 1-2-calls’ GPRS package, but the speed was often annoyingly slow and the connection would break down every now and then. though I guess my mobile phone was as well to blame. i stopped using those Edge/GPRS - packages as WIFI is available more and more and it didnt make sense to pay a monthly fee for something I dont really use.
all you need to do to apply for EDGE/GPRS is to buy a regular SIM-card and then contact the callcenter. they will initiate it for you immidiately (of course you have to have enough credits on your card so the amount can be deducted).